


Valentine's Day

by Krystalmatsumiya



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, M/M, Non-pairing pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 08:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9713678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krystalmatsumiya/pseuds/Krystalmatsumiya
Summary: At the same time ever Valentine's Mycroft Holmes leaves work early. Anthea knows why.(Seriously I will learn to write summaries)





	

“This is the last of it, Sir” Anthea said with her normal efficient tone laying the last of the files on the desk of her boss who barely seemed to acknowledge her presence in the room. There was a wave of his hand in her direction and Anthea noticed that his ring appeared to shine as though he had been polishing it with his fingers throughout the day. When she had first started working for Mycroft Holmes she had been somewhat naïve and indiscreet. She had tried to find out about the ring which adorned the finger of her boss and the giver. 

Of course, it could have been some generic ring that he had picked up from a holiday at some point in his life but that didn’t sit right with her. Asking her boss was a no go and it wouldn’t do to indulge in office gossip so she had had to be clever and observe. For the first year of her career there had been no hint of a partner, or even that her boss had a social life, Mycroft worked all the hours that he possibly could often being the first to arrive and always being the last to leave. Running a country and advising several others appeared to be a rather thankless task and she began to wonder if perhaps the giver had been somebody in his past, somebody that had fallen by the wayside in his rise to fame and glory. And then Valentine’s day came around. 

Her boss had finished his work promptly by 5pm and then shrugged himself into his jacket and then coat before sweeping his way out of the office without so much as a goodbye. Where he went had been a mystery. There had been nothing in his diary, in fact, he had explicitly stated that the day was to be kept clear and that contacting him during the night would be punishable by death, or at the very least instant dismissal.

The pattern continued for several years. Mycroft never stayed behind on Valentine’s. Work was always completed at 5pm. The most important man in the UK would be out the door first and woe betide anyone that tried to stop him. For four whole years Anthea, had puzzled over the problem that was her boss and then one night, when she had allowed herself the luxury of a date, she had seen Mycroft in the company of another man. 

The man had been gorgeous, dressed in a fitted blue woollen coat with high cheek bones and aristocratic features. His eyes had been a blue-green and his lips had been drawn into a haughty pout. He held himself with grace and dignity and Mycroft had had a hand on the small of his back guiding him into the best restaurant in the town. What had surprised Anthea most about the whole affair was the softness in her boss’s features, the gentle way in which he had smiled his eyes crinkling in the corners as he had listened to what his date had said. Mycroft had always smiled pleasantly enough but it had never been genuine, never reached his eyes the way that it did in that moment. 

It had taken another two years for her to meet the man face to face. He had showed up at the offices one day bypassing all their security measures and flouncing into Mycroft’s office without waiting for her to confirm that he was free. Anthea had hurried after him but Mycroft had barely looked up from his paperwork. Sherlock, he’d said with just a breath sounding both fond and frustrated, where did you get my security pass from this time? Sorry, Anthea, this is my brother, Sherlock Holmes. You may leave us. 

The word brother had caught her by surprise and she had thought for a moment that she had been wrong about what she had seen. Her doubt had lasted for about a second and then she had seen it again the softness in her boss’s eyes the warm smile which ghosted his lips. There had been no mistake on her part. 

The knowledge that her boss was dating his own brother should have sickened her she supposed, there should have been a chill down her spine at how gross it was but over the years she had gotten to know Mycroft. He was a good boss, if a little cold at times, he had her buy gifts for herself on both her birthday and Christmas, allowed her time off when her mother had been sick even suffering with her inadequate replacement and she knew him well enough to know that she wanted him to be happy.

It wasn’t as though either of the Holmes’ brothers were normal after all. They were both far too clever for their own good which meant that ordinary people would never have been able to keep up with them. And so, she had kept her own council and never spoke about what she knew to anyone. That had been three years ago, and not once had she regretted her choice. 

“I think that will be all for today” Mycroft announced predictably at 5pm his eyes studying the fob watch from around his waist. Anthea helped him into his coat and handed him his umbrella in silence and was rewarded with a smile a soft “Thank-you” 

“You’re welcome. Have fun sir” She smiled and then paused wondering if she had said something wrong when Mycroft stared at her for a moment but then he inclined his head and then turned on his heel and walked to the door of his office saying;

“I always do on this day”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day. I wanted to write fluffy but it became this. I hope it's okay


End file.
